What I write in Ensign are thoughts of uneasiness as I try to reconcile my own personal professional experiences with the widespread phony behaviour of our free marketeers: big businesses, experts and politicians.

I started to highlight the phony beahaviour of our Saskatchewan politicians only to realise that they are the copycats of our American neighbours. I recall how the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) was always asking for more health care money while at the same time they were digging holes in the grounds, holes camouflaged as reforms to save money: cutting hospital beds, new payroll systems (HSSG, Stargarden, SAP and the like), new health districts, new information systems (SHIN). These obtuse politicians were telling the public they were supporting health care by the huge amount they were spending by digging holes in the ground.

The closure of the Plains hospital in Regina experienced some $50 million overrun and yet then Health Minister Pat Atkinson would say "Nothing has been hidden, there's no smoking gun, no one has run with the money."[2]

A few days ago the premiers and Prime Minister Paul Martin reached an agreement to increase federal health spending in the amount of $41 billion over the next ten years and yet there is no accountability on how this money is going to be spent.[3] I think that one major fault of our supposed public health care system is that it is run as a business. This thought reinforces my understanding that public policies must not be run as a business.

What we need are businesses, experts and politicians who are responsible for the results of their work. Instead, we have businesses, experts and politicians who grease their pockets and cover their assets with reforms. In Bush’s America we have more reforms than ever:

• Intelligence Reform
• Patriot Act Reform
• Education Reform
• Health Reform
• Tort Reform
• Tax Reform
• Foreign Policies Reform
• Environment Reform
• Military Reform
• Iraq Reform
• Trade Reform
• Deficit Reform and the ultimate
• Ownership Society Reform[4],

and yet nobody is responsible for any wrongdoing: Welcome to the world of Reform where businesses, experts and politicians make money at the expense of others and cover their assets with REFORM.

References

Pertinent articles published in Ensign

1. Wikipedia Samuel Taylor Coleridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge

2. deSantis, Mario The closure of the Plains Health Centre: The $50 million overrun and the gimmick of savings money in health care December 19, 1999 Ensign,

3. Talaga, Tanya and Tonda Maccharles Health hopes get a boost Most experts cautiously optimistic about agreement But some observers worry about provinces' accountability (pdf) September 17, 2004 http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_ Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1095372614135

4. New York Times CAMPAIGN 2004: THE BIG ISSUES Taxes for an Ownership Society (pdf) Editorial, September 15, 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/opinion/15wed1.html

Image credits Prime minister and premiers Jim Young, REUTERS, George Bush, AFP/ Tim Sloan